


And Our Particles Are in Motion

by DoctorSyntax



Category: Castle
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-26
Updated: 2011-02-26
Packaged: 2017-10-18 04:04:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/184763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorSyntax/pseuds/DoctorSyntax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Beckett and Sorenson go ice skating together. Written for <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/castlekink/2409.html?thread=108393#t108393">a prompt</a> on <a href="http://castlekink.livejournal.com/profile"><img/></a><a href="http://castlekink.livejournal.com/"><b>castlekink</b></a>: <em>Beckett/Sorenson [...] anything with them, as long as it's a reasonably happy ending.</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	And Our Particles Are in Motion

Kate remembers where she is as soon as she wakes up; there is no period of disorientation, no glancing at unfamiliar walls before her memory jogs -- she is at Will's, in his bedroom, and he is not beside her. She rolls over to face where Will _should_ be and snuggles the starched pillowcase, smile playing across her lips. She can hear Will humming in the kitchen, and the smell of eggs cooking.

Her back to the bedroom door, she hears Will come in before she sees him. The bed behind her dips under his weight, and he presses a kiss to her cheek, close to her ear. "Breakfast," he says, placing a plate on the mattress right in front of her face. "Eggs over easy. -- It tastes better than it looks, I promise," he adds, and she laughs as she sits up.

"Thank you," she tells him, kissing him on the mouth.

"Listen," Will starts, "I was thinking."

Kate has already begun eating, and with her mouth full she can do little more than quirk her eyebrow and hope he takes that as an invitation to continue.

He breathes in, thinking about his next words before he says them. "I liked waking up next to you, Kate, and I don't want you to go home yet. I thought we might spend the day together, maybe go ice skating at Rockefeller Center."

Kate swallows a mouthful of eggs (he is right -- they are better than they look) and bites at her lip, trying to decide how to respond. "I haven't been skating in... years." _Since just before my mother died_ , she thinks, but doesn't say it. There are things Will doesn't need to know, and though she's told him her mother was murdered, he only knows the barest of details. She prefers it that way.

Will grins. "It's like riding a bike. Come on," he coaxes, bringing his hand up to her face and brushing the tip of his thumb across her cheek. She turns her head into the caress ever-so-slightly.

She should go, she thinks. She liked waking up next to him, too. "Okay," she says, smiling. "Yeah, let's do that."

***

The rental skates at the ice rink come in an assortment of hideous fluorescent colors, and Will tries not to laugh when she totters out of the women's changing room on a pair of neon orange skates. He doesn't quite succeed, and she swats him on the forearm.

"I will have you know that these skates are _awesome_ ," she tells him, and he just raises his eyebrows.

"I think I'll stick with my own pair," is all he says, and glances down at his black skates briefly, before looking back at her. "Shall we?" he asks, inclining his head toward the rink.

Kate eyes it for a moment before nodding. Will offers her his arm, but she doesn't take it, wanting to prove to herself (and maybe him) that she can still do this. She takes a breath, takes a step, and wobbles -- catching herself on the sleeve of Will's cable-knit pullover, she almost pulls him down with her, but he catches her with his other hand and steadies them both. She dares him with her eyes to comment, but he wisely chooses not to.

She doesn't let go of him, after that, and he guides her onto the ice. She clings to Will's bicep in a death grip as he shepherds her around the rink once, twice, and she falls into a half-forgotten rhythm. Slowly her fingers begin to relax, her smile begins to grow, and her feet feel more sure.

"I'm going to let go," she warns, and Will slows down their pace so she doesn't fall. She wobbles once, but regains her footing quickly, and Will falls into place beside her. He keeps his eyes on her, ready to catch her if she begins to fall, but she doesn't. After a few laps around the rink, she starts to feel bad.

"Go on," she says, gesturing ahead of them. "This can't be fun for you."

"I'm with you," Will answers. "I'm having fun."

She rolls her eyes at the line, but can't stop the smile it brings to her face. "I'm serious. Go show me what you can do."

Will quirks an eyebrow. "You asked for it," he says, and skates off before she can ask what he means by that. She keeps an eye on him as he disappears, but he doesn't do anything fancy, not that she can see. Soon he is on the opposite side of the rink, out of her line of sight, and she concentrates on the rhythm of her skating, pleased as she begins to speed up.

Gliding around the ice, she can't help but remember the last time she went skating, all those years ago. It was just after Christmas, and her mother had bought her a pair of white ice skates -- God only knew why, but her mother had seemed excited, so Kate went willingly (even when Johanna had brought along the camera; thankfully, she hadn't photographed any of the various spills Kate had taken). They'd gone out to lunch afterward, Kate remembered, and returned home in high spirits. It was the last time she and her mother had spent the entire day together, just the two of them, and Kate wouldn't trade the memory for anything.

She finds herself smiling despite herself as she reaches the other side of the rink. Suddenly she feels a tug at her braid, and Will skates past her with easy grace.

"Hey!" she laughs, trying to skate after him, but she looses her balance and falls. Will is too far from her to notice, so she gets up and follows him with all the determination she can muster. It's a losing battle, of course, and pretty soon he's out of her sight again. She finds she doesn't really care; she's enjoying herself too much.

Someone smacks into her from behind, but arms come around her waist to steady her before she falls. She knows instinctively that it's Will, and shrieks with delight before she can stop herself. She squirms in his arms, and he laughs, deep in his chest -- she can feel it against her back.

They glide to a stop, and he sits heavily on the railing, still not letting go of her. She falls backward -- half on his lap, half off of it. He tightens his arms around her waist and brings his head around to nip at her ear.

"I love you," he tells her, for the first time, and Kate laughs breathlessly because she already knew. Her nose and cheeks are reddened with cold but her eyes are sparkling because she can't remember the last time she was so _happy_.

She leans back into Will's warm, strong chest and turns her head, kissing him on the cheek. "We should do this more often," she answers.


End file.
